In a pivotal move for national security, two Republican senators have introduced a legislative proposal aimed at strengthening President Donald Trump’s missile defense strategy.
This initiative seeks to breathe new life into several programs and capabilities that have largely been overlooked in recent years.
Proposed Enhancements
On Wednesday, Senators Dan Sullivan from Alaska and Kevin Cramer from North Dakota revealed their comprehensive plan to enhance missile defense throughout the continental U.S. Their proposal includes reintroducing Aegis Ashore systems, deploying surveillance blimps to identify advanced threats, expanding the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system at Fort Greely, Alaska, and establishing a new interceptor site on the East Coast.
This ambitious missile defense program is projected to require about $19.5 billion in funding for fiscal year 2026—almost doubling the Missile Defense Agency’s (MDA) budget request of $10.4 billion for fiscal 2025.
Strategic Focus Shift
If approved, this bill would shift the responsibilities for missile defense operations and maintenance to military services, allowing the MDA to focus solely on research and development.
Trump’s call for a next-generation missile defense shield signals a shift from the usual focus on adversaries like North Korea and Iran.
Instead, it brings attention to potential threats from larger rivals, such as China and Russia.
This updated strategy also encompasses a variety of complex threats, including hypersonic weapons and unmanned drones.
Key Legislative Components
Senator Sullivan emphasized that the legislation aims to establish a robust homeland missile defense system capable of countering increasing threats from major global powers.
Dubbed the “Iron Dome Act,” the initiative builds upon Trump’s earlier executive orders and guidance from the 2022 Missile Defense Review.
A particularly interesting element of the bill addresses an incident from a decade ago involving the Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System (JLENS), which infamously broke free from its mooring near Baltimore.
This event has reignited discussions about the Army deploying aerostats and airships to boost missile defense capabilities against various threats.
Under the proposed legislation, the MDA would be authorized to allocate $25 million to assess and design an interceptor facility at Fort Drum in New York.
In addition, Trump’s initiative has sparked renewed interest in space-based interceptors, with the legislation advocating for a robust detection infrastructure for threats from outer space.
The plan details the procurement and accelerated development of numerous existing missile defense systems, including a significant expansion of the GMD system at Fort Greely, which could see its missile silos rise to 80.
Moreover, there is an urgent push to expedite the development of the Next-Generation Interceptor (NGI) to replace the current ground-based interceptors.
The defense secretary will be required to ensure that at least 80 interceptors are operational at Fort Greely by January 1, 2038.
The proposed measures also stress the importance of hastening the development of the Glide-Phase Interceptor.
Additionally, the initiative envisions the establishment of Aegis Ashore sites in Alaska, Hawaii, and along the East Coast.
The bill aims to increase both the quantity of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) systems and interceptors, proposing a budget of $1.4 billion to accelerate production and deployment according to military leaders’ assessments.
Furthermore, the proposal details a call for ramping up production of SM-3 Block IB and Block IIA missiles, with a financial commitment of $1 billion, along with another $1.5 billion earmarked for producing Patriot missiles and their associated batteries.
Source: Militarytimes